Becoming a Peer

Articles and comments concerning the process of becoming a peer.

See also: Becoming a Peer 2

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A "keeper" posting from the An Tir all-peers list, 26 May XLI/2006:

Greetings from E.B.

Anne-Marie Rousseau <[address deleted to preserve privacy]> wrote on 25/05/2006 02:24:13 PM:
[...]
> so who are these unrecognized masses? where are they, and how, with
> everything that
> we're doing, are they being missed?
[...]
> --Anne-Marie

I suspect that the unrecognized masses aren't really as unrecognized as some folks might think.

Here's what I think may be happening:

Lady Jane sees Lord Joe DoesCoolStuff autocrating events, holding offices, and generally being a good service mavin. She recommends Lord Joe for a Pelican because he has a Goutte already. And nothing happens...

At least nothing happens from her point of view.

What's really happened is that her recommendation went to the principality/regional Pelican circle. They already had Lord Joe on their radar and added Lady Jane's recommendation to his file. They discuss Lord Joe and reach essentially the same conclusion that they reached six months ago when they discussed him last (just after he got his Goutte) -- he's well on his way on the Pelican track, but he's only been in the Society for four years, he hasn't autocratted anything but very small local events or held any but local shire offices, he hasn't learned how to delegate yet, and he's hardly known by anyone outside of his local branch.

But now the regional Pelicans know his name. And the next time one of them runs into Lord Joe around the campfire, Joe ends up in a conversation with them about the tips and tricks of running a larger event. And someone makes sure that he hears about a opening in a principality office that he might be suited for. Or his branch is solicited to host a principality event next summer with him as autocrat. Heck, the Pel from NextShireOver might even be making protege overtures in his direction.

Has Lord Joe gone unrecognized? Not at all. No, he hasn't gotten any awards based on Lady Jane's recommendation, but we're cultivating him like crazy.

Yes, I'm playing with the two meanings of "recognition". But just because they haven't received the recognition of a Peerage (or any other award), doesn't mean that they have been entirely missed, overlooked, ignored, or unrecognized.

Mistress Elizabeth "E.B." Braidwood

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The Difference Between A Squire Saying "I Wanna Be a Knight Someday" and Anybody Saying "I'm Gonna Be a Laurel/Pelican Someday"

by Mistress Elizabeth Braidwood, OP (Aug 1996)

The question is: "How come it's okay for squires to say they want to be a knight, but it's not okay for me to say I want to be a Laurel or a Pelican?"

The difference is "Wanna" vs. "Gonna", and not Knight vs. Laurel/Pelican, as many people seem to think.

Peers as a group do not mind hearing "I want to be a peer someday." When we hear it, we know we are listening to someone who aspires to a goal; someone who is willing to work on both projects and self; someone who is committed to the ideals of the Society and is willing to dedicate significant effort in its upkeep and development. In our mind we hear them saying "I want to fight as well as a knight or master does. I want to make things at the same level of quality that a Laurel does. I want to work and make things happen the way a Pelican does." Wanting to be a peer is a fine and worthy goal to go a-questing for.

But when we hear "I'm going to be a Peer someday.", we hear someone who thinks they have the game figured out; someone who thinks they know the rules and knows exactly how much effort it will take to become a peer; we hear someone who thinks that all it takes is doing the Right Thing at the Right Place with the Right People. In our minds we hear them saying "I want the respect that peerage regalia gets. I want to hang around with important people. I want to sit in secret meetings. But I'm willing to do only just enough to get me there." Expecting to become a peer and telling people about it will delay a peerage indefinitely.

At some level, we resent non-peers telling us that they should be one of us. We, and only we, choose who we invite to join our orders. But it's a lot more than that. Someone who is expecting a peerage before it is offered is missing the point of what it means to be a peer.

A peerage doesn't come with a certificate that says "Master Joe is now entitled to three measures of Respect, 12 minutes per reign of private audience with either the King or the Queen, and the Right to correct anyone breaking the rules." Each of those, and many other 'rights' that go with peerage, must be Learned and Earned before peerage is offered. It's tough to earn a peerage, but in many ways it's tougher to be a Peer.

When we hear someone say "I'm going to be a Peer some day." we hear someone who wants the regalia and the glory, but hasn't figured out that saying "I'm going to be a Peer some day." is not a peer-like think to say.